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How many days in Vienna, Hallstatt and Salzburg?

Posted by (Columbus, OH) on

Hi! After the RS BOE 14 Days, my family (me, wife and 12 yo son) would like to visit Austria, which is not included in the tour. I have 5 nights/6 days for that between the tour and our flight to home. I originally thought about 3 nights in Vienna, 1 night in Hallstatt and 1 night in Salzburg before heading home out of Frankfurt since we have an evening flight.

After sightseeing in Vienna, we'd like to rent a car in Vienna to visit and see the beauty of Salzkammergut including Hallstatt and the hills and stay there for 1 night. On the next day, we'd return the car in Salzburg and stay there for one night. But since my friends in Frankfurt want us to visit them for at least a day, we have to change the plan.

If we have to stay for only 1 night in either Hallstatt or Salzburg, where should we stay overnight to see both cities? Or should we stick to the original plan and not spend a night in Frankfurt? Or would it even be better to stay in Hallstatt or Salzburg for 2 nights instead of splitting each night?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Posted by
795 posts

I would skip Hallstatt and spend 2 nights in Salzburg. In fact, if you could stay a bit longer, I would say go for it as both Vienna and Salzburg are cities worth doing right. Could your friends possibly visit with you in Salzburg? When you see it, you'll know why I say this.

Posted by
5513 posts

How will you get from Salzburg to Frankfurt? It is a 5+ hour train ride.

How will you get from Rome to Vienna?

Posted by
16895 posts

This question comes after reviewing the replies at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/need-help-for-deciding-cities-and-length-of-stays, right?

Train from Vienna to Hallstatt takes 3.5-4 hours with one connection, allowing you to see spend the afternoon there upon arrival, and that one night. Then you can move onto Salzburg the next morning, 2.5 hours by train, and again spend one night.

I think the benefit of driving would only be to make stops on the way, but those stops and detours would cut into the short time (one day!) that you have for the stated destinations. If you poke around on the way from Vienna to Hallstatt, you may not arrive until evening, just for sleeping. Same issue the next day; driving directly from Hallstatt to Salzburg takes about 1.5 hours but other stops would cut into your Salzburg time. See also www.viamichelin.com.

Posted by
34 posts

Laura, you've found my post in another forum. Yes, that's right.

So you don't like the idea of renting a car in Vienna to go to Hallstatt? Rick mentions a car rental in the website. I thought it is a good idea to do that to move quickly from here to there. I'm curious about the salt mines in Hallstatt and the ride down. Do you think we have enough time to do that if we arrive in Hallstatt in the afternoon?

Would it be really better to stay in Salzburg for 2 nights and visit Hallstatt from there? Or would it be better to skip Hallstatt and stick to Salzburg? Or would it be better to stay in Vienna for 4 nights and in Salzburg for 1 night?

Posted by
782 posts

If you rent a car in Vienna you can drive to Hallstatt en route to Salzburg and see the town,but if you are going to the Salt Mine Tour it would be best to leave Vienna early then you are not doubling back and can continue on to Salzburg.
Mike

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